Macramé
Macramé is a form of textile produced using knotting (rather than weaving or knitting) techniques.
The primary knots of macramé are the square (or reef knot) and forms of "hitching": various combinations of half hitches. It was long crafted by sailors, especially in elaborate or ornamental knotting forms, to cover anything from knife handles to bottles to parts of ships.
Cavandoli macramé is one variety that is used to form geometric and free-form patterns like weaving. The Cavandoli style is done mainly in a single knot, the double half-hitch knot. Reverse half hitches are sometimes used to maintain balance when working left and right halves of a balanced piece.
Leather or fabric belts are another accessory often created via macramé techniques. Most friendship bracelets exchanged among schoolchildren and teens are created using this method. Vendors at theme parks, malls, seasonal fairs and other public places may sell macramé jewelry or decoration as well.
History
One of the earliest recorded uses of macramé-style knots as decoration appeared in the carvings of the Babylonians and Assyrians. Fringe-like plaiting and braiding adorned the costumes of the time and were captured in their stone statuary.[1]
The
Macramé was most popular in the Victorian era. It adorned most homes in items such as tablecloths, bedspreads and curtains. The popular Sylvia's Book of Macramé Lace (1882) showed how "to work rich trimmings for black and coloured costumes, both for home wear, garden parties, seaside ramblings, and balls—fairylike adornments for household and underlinens ...".[4]
It was a specialty in Genoa, and was popular in the 19th century. There, "Its roots were in a 16th-century technique of knotting lace known as punto a groppo" [5]
Sailors made macramé objects while not busy at sea, and sold or bartered them when they landed. Nineteenth-century British and American sailors made hammocks, bell fringes, and belts from macramé. They called the process "square knotting" after the knot they used most often. Sailors also called macramé "McNamara's lace".[4]
Macramé's popularity faded, but resurged in the 1970s for making wall hangings, clothing accessories, small jean shorts, bedspreads,
Materials and process
Materials used in macramé include cords made of
For larger decorative pieces, such as wall hangings or window coverings, a work of macramé might be started out on a wooden or metal dowel, allowing for a spread of dozens of cords that are easy to manipulate. For smaller projects, push-pin boards are available specifically for macramé, although a simple corkboard works adequately. Many craft stores offer beginners' kits, work boards, beads and materials ranging in price for the casual hobbyist or ambitious crafter.[1]
See also
- Chinese knotting
- List of hitch knots
- Sennit
- Crochet
- Knitting
References
- ^ OCLC 948758577.
- ISBN 981-02-2469-9.
- ISBN 978-0-313-33548-8.
- ^ ISBN 0-88850-085-8.
- ^ "macramé | lace | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-01-29.
- ISBN 0-89577-063-6, retrieved 2009-09-20
- ^ Buck, Stephanie (Sep 19, 2017). "Macramé is the knotty trend millennials Instagrammed back from the dead". Timeline.
- ^ Fox-Leonard, Boudicca (18 February 2018). "Macramé: it's knot like the Seventies". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12.
External links
- Sylvia's Book of Macramé Lace by Sylvia (pseudonym), 1882.
- "Macrame knots". Retrieved April 14, 2017. Illustrations of various knots.